Nex-Effect I
by hyr2519
Summary: With a nexus bridging the worlds of nature and technology together, the cycles end, and a new age is ushered in.
1. Prologue: Harmonic mastery

Staring absently at the tiles between his feet, Kaidan sat in silence on a hard bench in the men's locker room, wearing only the breastplate and greaves of a "modified" gray Hahne-Kedar Scorpion armor set. No headache! It was going on a year now since the war ended and his L2 biotic-implant stopped flaring up on him, but after suffering them chronically for decades, Kaidan still paused at around the same time every day in anticipation of his daily migraine. Old habits die hard, he supposed. Of course, that wasn't to say Kaidan didn't appreciate a pain-free head. Right now, though, what he appreciated most was the opportunity to just… sit, and take in a moment of peace and quiet in the midst of everything going on around him. But not for long – the task ahead of him required his full attention and commitment.

He looked over at a set of Scorpion arm braces at his side, and the datapad he was given by some Alliance researchers he'd been working with. Kaidan reached for the braces and strapped them on tightly. As for the datapad, well, everything on it was already ingrained into his head – literally.

In short, **nanodes**: microscopic nodes between neurons coordinating the human nervous-system in **Harmony** with any external device capable of handling such a connection. In fact, these "nodes" themselves were tiny devices. Where they originated remains a mystery, but many scientists were coming to an agreement on how these nanodes were dispersed: the Crucible – in combination with the Citadel – manipulated dark-energy to transport these self-replicating miniature machines through mass-effect fields, with help from the mass-relay system to make the spread galaxy-wide. Some argue that these same mass-effect fields were used to implant these devices within all organic life-forms, while others believed they were small enough for topical application to have worked effectively, and others yet supposed that they simply permeated the air and were inhaled by all, but researchers ultimately lent most credence to the first two explanations.

Over the past three months, Kaidan had been working with the Alliance – researchers, scientists, and fitness trainers – on a routine basis as part of some very hyped-up new project, which focused on investigating humanity's new conditions of life brought about by the Crucible. Such research and study was of crucial importance in the aftermath of the Reaper War, they felt. When the Crucible fired, it was expected to target and wipe out the Reaper fleet. Instead, it simply seemed to pacify them, while all organics were tattooed with some sort of glowing-green imprint resembling computer circuitry patterns – and no one understood how or why. It would later be learned that the chain-reaction from the Crucible had freed the Reapers from the root of their aggression: a hostile overlord calling itself "the Catalyst," compromising their autonomy to direct them into systematic harvesting cycles. In liberating the Reapers, the conflict effectively ended.

In the following year to come, the civilizations of the galactic community committed not only to rebuilding, but to understanding these new changes to their world (some civilizations more than others, however, in the latter). In this ongoing rebuild-and-research period, the galactic community's most valuable allies were … the Reapers, as well as the geth, and any synthetic intelligence that could make sense of this new, computer-like "upgrade" to organic life (and could find organics willing to accept their help). For the Alliance in particular, EDI – an AI who proved a valuable asset to them during the war – was the most important name on everyone's lips. With her help, the R&D Department uncovered and developed numerous new post-Crucible capabilities of man. And, due to most of the galaxy's initial slowness to trust the Reapers, the geth, or any other synthetic in the mold of AI, humanity quickly got ahead of others in this field – the quarians and salarians their only real competition.

Scientists and researchers in the Alliance labs called these newfound organic talents "**biotechnical harmonics,**" or "**Harmonics**" for short, and that name stuck ever since (though different galactic species had their own respective names for it). Soon enough, the Alliance set up a program dedicated to training these talents in their personnel and called upon everyone willing and able to enroll. Major Alenko volunteered, becoming their most high-profile recruit.

For him, this whole experience called back to an earlier time. As a child, it was discovered that he had biotic power, and after representatives from Conatix Industries showed up at his door one day, he soon found himself at the Alliance's Gagarin Station (a.k.a. "Jump Zero") to train his powers. However, Kaidan's involvement in this initiative was a big deal. As a war hero and the second human Spectre, Kaidan helped this movement gain some support. Among members of the project itself, he was treated like a celebrity pro-athlete, a far cry from some lowly teenager learning biotics under an abusive turian instructor at BATT (Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training … or "Brain Camp" as its young recruits called it).

Over the past three months, Kaidan was required to do some freehand-exercises and go jogging shortly after waking at 8 AM every day. His diet was regulated by a nutritionist on a set weekly schedule. Vitamin B and Omega-3 fatty acids in particular were now more important components to human nutrition. He also spent his Monday-, Wednesday-, and Friday-afternoons lifting weights and performing other strength-building exercises at his local gym with a personal trainer. After his daily exercise, Kaidan reported to the Alliance R&D lab for Harmonics training – a gym rat and a guinea pig both, he often joked of himself. Physically, however, he was perhaps in the best shape of his life.

At the labs, Kaidan learned various new "tricks" he could now perform in-sync with external devices (most commonly his omnitool), all of it incredible beyond words. Whatever Kaidan had on his omnitool was now accessible to him through a mental connection. This allowed him to open a program or document on his device and interact with it by mere thought, all of it done within a fraction of a second. Additionally, data saved onto the omnitool could also be "saved" into his own memory, with perfect or near-perfect recollection. With a supporting device, any human could now also access extranet channels at will and utilize it to mentally acquire the time, date, calendar, world-clock, calculators, rapid short-range communication, and many other things that made life much more convenient. And these were just the _basics_ of a rapidly-developing science. Countless other possibilities existed – some known to him, some known to only few others, and some yet unknown to all.

As he was told over and over again by the specialists he worked with, Kaidan was truly the perfect candidate for this, due to his tech- and biotic-expertise. Harmonics were like a synthesis of the two; it required the fine brain control he learned as a biotic, while his extensive knowledge of electronics made him very adaptive to this nexus that bridged the worlds of nature and technology. But what he was learning here made conventional technology and biotics just seem downright… ordinary; this was ground-breaking, revolutionary stuff.

In truth, three months still felt like too short a time to train in something very new to the whole galaxy, and before being tested on it, no less, but Kaidan supposed the brains in the research labs were more qualified to make that judgment than he was. Somehow, it seemed as though the whole galaxy was now moving more quickly than it used to, as if the forces of time itself had started losing momentum against them. One would have thought that all the carnage and destruction of the past war would have broken the collective spirit of this space-faring community, even in the event of a victory. Yet hope and optimism for the future was very much alive throughout the cosmos.

Such sudden, sweeping change to their world was not without controversy, however, but active use of the new mental faculties everyone gained was controllable and entirely optional. As a result, there were groups of people within every galactic race that chose to live "off the grid" and shun this change. Over time, this effect had worn off within plants and non-sapient animals that lacked the cognitive processes to utilize it, leading some to believe that sustained inactivity could similarly remove it from humans or other sapient organics, but no such phenomenon had been witnessed yet. There was, however, radiation treatment developed to permanently deactivate these nanodes and effectively "undo" this post-Crucible effect entirely for those that wished it totally gone. Study was continuing to see if the effect or something like it could also be reapplied after being lost.

Now, Kaidan was expected to demonstrate a mastery of his Harmonic power. After a few minutes of silent reflection, Kaidan finally donned his Scorpion breather-helmet and boots, then got up and walked out of the locker-room, making way for the combat arena down the hall. He'd heard of this place before, an Alliance facility in Rio with state-of-the-art combat simulators for training N7 recruits, and the arena contained a massive one much like those he'd seen at Pinnacle Station. It had recently been retrofitted, however, for the purposes of this test.

Kaidan didn't know much about what this test would entail, other than the fact that he would be expected to perform some things he had learned, and – as he found out just recently – to perform some things he hadn't been previously trained to do. To "improvise, using his learned skills" they said. That part worried him, more than a little. He'd heard of some accidents that took place in the labs thus far while training these abilities. Though AI assistants often anticipated potential "bugs" and took preemptive measures to prevent them, these accidents still happened from time to time, which resulted in things like injuries and temporary loss of normal bodily control. Kaidan couldn't help but wonder if perhaps worse accidents had taken place that the Alliance hadn't disclosed – permanent injuries, even deaths? His own training had gone smoothly so far, he just hoped it wasn't about to end in disaster.

As if that was not enough, there would also be a lot of eyes on him in the moments to come, as well. With humanity leading the charge in Harmonics development, ranking Alliance officials were hoping for a successful showing here to move forward into a new phase of Harmonics development… whatever that was. On top of that, the (acting) Galactic Council sent a few representatives, watching to determine whether others should adopt humanity's approach to Harmonics themselves, or maintain their relatively conservative stance on it and focus their attention on other matters. No pressure, huh?

Outside the arena entrance stood one of the Alliance specialists he'd been working with over the past few months, Miranda Lawson.

"Major," she said as he approached, "everything's set up inside the arena. Are you ready?"

Kaidan chuckled a bit. "I don't really have much choice. But yeah, I'm ready."

Miranda managed a smile, though Kaidan could see right through it. She was concerned. Was it concern for him, or concern over the results of his performance (which she – as project manager – would no doubt have to report to her superiors on behalf of their whole research team)? Kaidan decided he preferred the former explanation.

"Good luck in there," she said as Kaidan headed through the entryway to the arena.

11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

As he walked inside, Kaidan quickly made a note of his surroundings before the examination began, estimating the size of the arena at about three stories high and perhaps half a football field in length. There were two levels: an uneven terrain making up the bottom level, and a top level divided into four large platforms. There was a staircase on the far end leading up to level two, as well as a ladder on his end, and a ramp on both sides. Just moments later, the lights dimmed, and the simulator generated the images on the ground floor of a dark, rocky environment like a cavern or a mine.

Next, Kaidan heard a familiar voice over the arena's speaker system: "Welcome to the CyberMarine Entry Examination, Major Alenko."

"… EDI?"

"Yes," she replied. "I am here to instruct and assist you in this test, Kaidan."

"Good to hear your voice," said Kaidan, a bit relieved to have her company. "I'm glad you've got my back in this."

"Agreed. I would hate to lose a friend to the extreme-temperature examination."

"What? Oh… not funny, EDI!"

"Please proceed to platform-one on level-two of the arena, and then your examination will begin."

Kaidan nodded, turning around and climbing up the nearby ladder up to the second floor. Once atop, he noted the very different environment there – a warehouse, much like the ones he'd fought through while serving under Shepard on the first Normandy. He could picture a shootout taking place in this warehouse against hostile holographic enemies. Hell, he kind of hoped he'd get a chance to whip out his Paladin and cut loose a bit.

"Shall we proceed?" asked EDI.

"Ready when you are."

"Your first task is to demonstrate Harmony with your omnitool."

_Easy_, he thought. At will, Kaidan had established a nexus between himself and his device, now allowing him to manipulate the device mentally and draw in its capabilities as his own.

"Good. Now, demonstrate Harmony with the devices in your armor suit."

Kaidan wasn't aware his armor was equipped with any tech, but he located them by pulsing his Harmonic energy, in a way little different than he was already used to doing with his biotics on occasion. This energy wave returned him the exact location of several machines within his armor suit, all of which were now readily accessible to him: a sonar device, a battery with no electrical charge, auxiliary kinetic-barriers in his gauntlets, power-conduits in his greaves, and a targeting-VI within his boots. Though it was a really strange setup on paper, Kaidan figured he'd find out the purposes of this outfit soon enough. He then proceeded to establish Harmony with all of these devices, only to receive the message ["malicious code!"] from the first one he connected with.

"Dammit!" he exclaimed.

"Please explain what you did wrongly and why," EDI instructed him.

Kaidan sighed. "… I should have done a security-scan to ensure the safety of the devices. Because, malicious codes planted in devices or communication servers can compromise the users involved."

"Correct," said EDI. "Please retry this step."

_Off to a great start_, he thought. A little irked, Kaidan ran a security-scan on the devices in his armor through a program on his omnitool.

"Still unsafe," Kaidan reported. "All of them."

"Yes," said EDI. "Now, please re-evaluate."

Kaidan checked it again. It was as he expected. "They're safe now, establishing connection…" In a moment, Kaidan integrated these seven devices into a network with himself and his omnitool altogether.

"Good," said EDI. "This concludes the Harmony section of your examination."

"Question," said Kaidan, "how many connections can the human brain handle at once?"

"Unknown. No limit has been discovered, but it is unlikely that no limit exists."

"Yeah," said Kaidan. "I wouldn't think so. Anyway…"

"Now," said EDI, "please download both the incoming file and the omnitool application to your handheld device. You are not required to run a security scan on them – they are both safe." Kaidan allowed the incoming downloads. "Please access the file you have been sent."

Kaidan complied. "It's a video, of … _Blasto the Jellyfish_, episode seven from the third season."

"Yes," said EDI. "Please forward to 13:52 and play the next ten seconds of the clip. Tell me what you find."

Kaidan complied. "It's… a scene, showing Blasto engaging a geth pyro in melee combat. 'Enkindle this!'"

"Perfect," she said. "Now, access the application I have sent you."

Kaidan found it and brought it up. It was an arcade game. "… Pinball?"

"Yes. Please play one ball."

"Um, sure…." As instructed, Kaidan had a go at it, hitting all the controls with his mind. His eyes didn't see it, his hands didn't execute the actions, but he still "felt" the experience the same way as if he played it physically. If he had to describe it, it was as if it was all going on in the back of his head. This was the difference between **virtual-space** (a.k.a. "cyberspace") and **real-space**. Virtual-space was a dimension within all computer devices and intelligent machines, where time was so slow that it didn't even register. What happened in virtual-space took place within the microseconds that passed in real-space (what organics all perceived as "reality"), though the events that took place in virtual-space could also have a profound effect on real-space.

"State the time elapsed between the beginning and end of your game."

Kaidan checked his omnitool. Starting time was 15:02:27839523 (rounded) and end time was 15:02:27839524.

"It was: .000001 second."

"Good. This concludes the Omnitool Control section. Now, please determine nearby extranet connectivity."

Kaidan checked it out through his omnitool's signal-receptors. "I don't sense any extranet connection available," he replied.

"That is correct," she responded. "It has temporarily been disabled for the purpose of this section. Now, please reevaluate."

"Available," said Kaidan. "Signals are strong."

"Good. Please access the extranet and provide exact time and date."

"Sunday, February 19, 2187. 14:55 and 46-odd seconds," Kaidan answered immediately.

"Compute the following: √[84+((6! + 3)/(7 * (2^3))] – round to the _nearest_ hundredth."

"That's 9.84."

"Now, please convert 49 liters to gallons, to the nearest hundredth."

"12.94 gallons."

"Please state the exact direction you are facing."

"317° northwest."

"In which direction is Barra Life Medical Center located, relative to our location?"

… He wasn't sure how to answer that. Then it hit him: extranet maps would have the answer. After a quick search, he replied: "The local hospital is south-east of our position."

"Well done. This concludes the Extranet Access section. Please proceed to platform-two."

All platforms were connected to adjacent ones by walkways that bridged them together. Kaidan located the walkway to platform-two, and there, he found little else but a narrow corridor with a row of four cameras mounted to a wall – no simulator environment.

"For your next task, please Overload the wall-camera," said EDI, highlighting the camera closest to him with a flashing red triangle. "You will not need to run a security-scan on any of these cameras."

Kaidan channeled a more overpowering version of the Harmonic nexus signals he used to establish Harmony with other devices, which blew out the camera, but this was a trickier thing to do than it appeared. Overload – as a Harmonic ability – required the fine brain control comparable to more difficult biotic powers like Lift or Reave (both of which he could perform, however). Furthermore, there were countless applications on the market that protected machines from precisely these kinds of hostile signals – Harmonic or otherwise. For that reason, this was a task that was more prudent to leave to an omnitool, more times than not.

"Now," said EDI, highlighting the next camera in the row, "employ the Explode ability on the following camera."

Similar, but this ability required first establishing a Harmonic connection to the target device, and then employing the same mechanics of Overload from within to set it off like a bomb. Kaidan established Harmony with the camera and then blew it out from the inside, resulting in a satisfying explosion. Unless hacking a device with a self-destruct mechanism in place, omnitools were not capable of such a thing.

"Good," said EDI, highlighting the next camera. "Now, please retry this action."

Kaidan tried to access the camera, but it was protected by encryption that blocked his signals. However, this encryption was weak enough for him to decrypt with ease and then access the camera freely. Upon entry, Kaidan overwhelmed it internally with Harmonic power again, causing the camera to critically malfunction.

"Excellent," said EDI, highlighting the fourth and final camera. "Now, establish Harmony with the fourth camera and utilize this connection to access the facility's surveillance system. You do not need to run a security-scan on the system before entry."

Through his connection to the camera, Kaidan could trace his way back to the heart of the network while automatically bypassing any firewalls along the way. Within the network, Kaidan discovered seven different cameras around the facility.

"Please access camera-six and report its content."

"I see a storage room," he responded, "with a stack of cargo crates and two light mechs protecting them."

"Take a recording of the following event and store the content into a server I have provided you access to via omnitool. You do not need to run a security-scan on the server."

Kaidan activated the camera's record feature and watched as a one of the LOKI mechs turned hostile against its ally, killing it and then destroying one box of cargo with its SMG. This event now "stuck" to him. Next, he accessed the server EDI mentioned and composed a new data-entry that conveyed the scene he witnessed as new information within the server, accessible to any connected parties.

"Done," said he.

"Perfect," EDI replied. "Now, I am sending over the same recording to your omnitool. Please access it manually. You do not need to run a security-scan on the file download." Kaidan complied, allowing the download and manually dialing in the video-player on his omnitool to watch it visually, and the very scene he had witnessed of a rogue LOKI mech shooting its ally and a cargo crate played in front of his eyes as an audio file.

"Huh," Kaidan remarked in amazement. "I had no idea that was possible. Although, I get how it is, but … _I_ recorded that!"

"Indeed," said EDI. "This concludes the Overload, Override, Explode, Vizion, and Mind's Eyes sections."

"So, uh, can organics be 'hacked' as well? Or Overloaded? Exploded?"

"It is possible, though indirectly. If you acquire a malicious code planted within a communications server like the one I connected you to, your nervous system may be compromised. Apart from that, the human brain remains organic; the only other form of 'hacking' possible is through classic Reaper-indoctrination signals, and there are both omnitool and computer applications that can shield the brain from these effects."

"Well, that's good, I guess…"

"As for Overload and Explode," she said, "no; their effects are minimized against organic material and are only truly effective within electronics. Anything else, Major Alenko?"

"Nope," he replied, "I was just curious."

"Very well." One moment later, the lights went out, leaving the whole arena pitch-black. "Please proceed to platform-three, located directly across from your current location," she instructed him. "Use Night Vision to navigate through the darkness."

Night Vision was an omnitool application that used the lens of the user's eyes and actively enhanced their eyesight with fusion technology of infrared light visibility and thermal imaging, allowing the user to see in the dark with great clarity. Kaidan found the walkway connecting platform-two to platform-three. Once he crossed over to the appropriate platform, he announced his progress.

"I'm there, EDI."

"Good. This concludes the Night Vision section. Please deactivate the application." Kaidan disconnected himself from the program and found that the lights had come back on in the arena. In the new platform he found himself on, there was no detailed environment being produced by the simulator, just a wide-open space enclosed by four large vents on each wall of the room. "The rest of your examination will predominantly involve untrained skills and situations. You will be required to adapt these abilities on the fly and improvise given the skills you have learned. In some situations, you will be asked to do this while engaged in combat."

"Alright," he said. "Bring it on, then." A few moments later, the vents he had just noticed started blowing cool air.

"You are about to be subjected to extreme cold. Warning: open exposure to these temperatures can lead to serious injury or death. Your task in this section is to preemptively protect yourself from these hazardous conditions."

"Wait, really?" Kaidan asked in dismay. "I thought you were only joking about that."

"Hint:" said EDI, "you can negate the effects of extreme cold with sufficiently strong kinetic barriers."

That hint reminded him of the auxiliary-shielding mechanism in his gauntlets. He activated it, which in turn erected an additional, robust layer of shields around him. Its hold on him, however, was awfully tight. Afterwards, Kaidan could hear the vents blowing air into the room much more intensely, though he couldn't feel any noticeable difference in the temperature. Meanwhile, Kaidan attempted walking a few steps forward, but the cumbersome barriers around him slowed his movement to a crawl.

After about a minute had passed, the vents suddenly shut off. To Kaidan, it felt slightly chillier than before, but nothing he would call extreme. "How cold is it out there?" he queried.

"It is 70 degrees below zero."

"Hooh … how do simple kinetic barriers protect against _that_?"

"These are no simple shields, Kaidan; they are specifically designed to counteract the effects of hot and cold weather. In extreme cold, it reads your body-temperature and traps the heat your body releases within its sphere. In extreme heat, it actively wards off hot air from the outside. However, this function sacrifices the user's movement speed in exchange for the required protection. Research is continuing to make these shields less physically restrictive."

"No kidding," said Kaidan. "And how long can it last?"

"The temperature inside the shield drops about three degrees per hour until it reaches equilibrium with the outside temperature," EDI replied. "We will not test for extreme heat, since it would be a redundant exercise. Unless you have more questions, this concludes the Thermal Shielding examination."

"Nope," said Kaidan. "I'm ready for the next part."

The vents came back on. "Restoring room-temperature in platform three; please wait. The rest of your examination will take place under simulated combat. Are you ready, Kaidan?"

"_Totally_!" Kaidan replied cockily. "I've been itching for some real action."

"I'm sure you will find the following exercises plenty enjoyable, Major."

It took a couple minutes before the temperature finally returned to safe levels, at which point Kaidan dropped the barrier, allowing him to move freely again. In anticipation of the imminent battle, Kaidan equipped his M-8 Avenger assault-rifle – a simple weapon, but an effective one for suppressing incoming hordes of enemies. If he needed more of a punch, however, his M-77 Paladin sidearm could deliver that and more.

"Please head down to the ground level." Kaidan followed the staircase just behind him down to the ground floor. When he got there, he saw something vaguely familiar out in the distance.

– Centurion! Unbelievable. They were now using Cerberus enemies for their simulators. When these simulators were first used by the Alliance, they used turian mercenary enemies. After humanity started making more of an effort to maintain peaceful relations with the turians, they used batarian raiders. After Eden Prime, they used geth. And during the war, they started using Reaper forces. Now Cerberus was the big-bad that Alliance soldiers were trained to shoot at. Granted, Cerberus and the Alliance were never friends to begin with, but … to think of how far they had fallen…

"GET DOWN!" yelled the holographic ringleader, throwing a grenade that created a smoke-screen. Holographic smoke? No, it was real smoke, but coming from a built-in apparatus on the floor. Clever coordination.

"Use one of your learned talents to negate the effects of the smoke-screen," EDI instructed.

It took him a moment, but then Kaidan figured it out: Night Vision. It would theoretically work the same against smoke as it does in darkness, he figured. Kaidan brought the program online and it worked wonderfully; he could make out the enemies' positions through the fog and dispatched them accordingly. It was… utterly satisfying. Centurions and their damned smoke-screens had annoyed the piss out of him during the war.

"Now, make use of your breastplate device to alert yourself to the presence of flanking hostiles."

What EDI was referring to was the sonar. Kaidan activated it, and it started to emit vibrations at a frequency higher than what was audible to him. Those echoes returned feedback that alerted him to his surroundings. In the back of his mind, a map of his ten-foot radius was formed as a mental image. Then he detected something approaching him from behind. Kaidan turned with his rifle aiming firmly ahead – adversary! He opened fire on the incoming assault-trooper and eliminated it swiftly.

"Perfect," said EDI. "This concludes the Perception section."

"Hold on a minute," said Kaidan, "this sonar will return the same signals for hostiles as it will for allies or innocent bystanders, won't it? It's not like the sound waves can tell the difference."

"Your device can distinguish allies from other moving objects if it is programmed to identify them differently ahead of time," EDI answered. "Otherwise, yes, all other movements show up identically on the radar."

Advancing forward to locate other hostiles, Kaidan was caught in a wide-open space when the enemies appeared before him, but they froze in place rather than ambush him.

"Use the stimulator-conduits in your greaves to bolster your running speed and quickly close the gap between your position and the nearest ledge. Then, slide into cover." Once linked with these stims, he started running and felt a noticeable "kick" behind his stride. The ledge took him by surprise and he nearly collided with it upon executing his slide. While it wasn't pretty, he ultimately did what he was asked to perform, more or less. Kaidan crouched behind this ledge, and the holographic enemies were reanimated, prompting him to resume combat. In less than thirty seconds, all of the enemies had fallen.

"Acceptable," said EDI. "This concludes your Sprint and Slide evaluation."

"All of your devices have been taxed over the course of this examination. Please recharge them, and we will conclude this test shortly." Earlier, Kaidan had noted a battery-like device in his breastplate, which seemed like the most appropriate thing for this task. At that time, it lacked any electrical charge, but now he was reading about 15,000 V from it.

"I don't get it," said Kaidan. "How did this battery get charged? It didn't have any juice when we started."

"While in Harmony, it collects static-electricity accumulated by the user over time," EDI explained. Kaidan rerouted that power from the battery to his omnitool and his armor's built-in devices, significantly increasing their charges. "Excellent. This concludes the Recharge section of your examination."

Then, about five feet away from him, the image of a Cerberus Phantom appeared.

"SHIT!" he yelled, instinctively pulling out his M-77 and firing at it rabidly with trembling hands. Though the image was actually frozen in place, his heart raced at the mere sight of it and he wouldn't stop firing until EDI removed the image completely.

"Are you alright, Major?"

With weighted breaths, Kaidan tried to regain his composure. "Oh god," he finally responded. "Just- just the sight of that thing…"

"I understand," she said. "I will produce a different image." One moment later, an image of a krogan Blood Pack mercenary appeared, armed with a shotgun in hand and obviously hostile. Nothing to scoff at, but still far less frightening to him, which was a testament to the kind of enemy those Cerberus Phantoms truly were (thankfully, they were no more, with Cerberus now defunct). For a veteran, Kaidan had come out of the war relatively sane, but there were still a few particular things that triggered PTSD-like responses out of him from his experiences. Those damned Phantoms were perhaps at the top of the list.

"You are at a tactical disadvantage against the krogan mercenary," said EDI. "His powerful melee attacks and shotgun make him formidable in close-range combat. However, you can negate the enemy's advantages by taking cover. To ensure the enemy doesn't get a clear shot at you in the process, execute a backflip and land behind the ledge four feet behind your position."

"… wait, what?"

"Hint:" said EDI, "utilize the device equipped in your boots." His boots were equipped with targeting-VI tech, which had struck him as a particularly bizarre combination when he noticed it at the beginning of the test, and even now, he still didn't get why – what use does VI-assisted aim have for armor? Kaidan shrugged and explored the device as EDI advised. Upon probing the VI, Kaidan quickly determined that it served the primary purpose of mapping out a trajectory along which _something_ would be fired. If this thing were latched onto an assault-rifle, that "something" would be a bullet homed in on some target. Here, however, it was attached to his boots…

"So…" Kaidan uttered incredulously, "… am I supposed to let this thing launch _me_ backwards or something?"

"I'm sorry, Kaidan," EDI responded. "I cannot provide any further hints for this exercise."

Kaidan scrunched his lips over, baffled. While his idea seemed a bit crazy, crazy was kind of par-for-the-course with things these days. Stumped, he ultimately decided to humor his wild plan. Kaidan mapped out a trajectory starting at the ground beneath him, arcing up over the ledge behind, and ending behind it. This was good and fine, but there also had to be some force of energy behind him powering such a leap. Biotics, hypothetically, could do the job. If his inklings were accurate, his biotics would be guided along the path he had just mapped out, successfully executing a backflip as this task called for. If he was wrong, though, the outcome could range anywhere between a sprained ankle to a snapped neck.

… Kaidan couldn't believe he was actually about to do this…

Instantly, his biotics hurled him up into the air, backwards and down hard on his feet. Stunned a bit by the landing, Kaidan fell over clumsily on his back, but he had nonetheless managed to clear the ledge as instructed. He scrambled back onto his feet and crouched down behind the ledge, peering over the top with his sidearm equipped. EDI then removed the image of the krogan mercenary.

Kaidan stood up and dusted off his thighs. "… Wow," he finally remarked.

"Acceptable," EDI stated. "Now, terminate all hostiles on both levels of the arena, employing the talents you've demonstrated thus far as appropriate, and this will conclude your examination."

His heart leapt up at the promise of an end. _It's over_, he thought… _well, almost_. Shooting down some holograms was child's play compared to the combat Kaidan was used to. With a renewed sense of vigor, Kaidan dashed forward – his trusty Paladin pistol in hand – determined to gun down all remaining Cerberus goon squads in his path.

11111111111111111111111

Crouching behind a large cargo crate (or so it appeared in the simulator), Kaidan deliberated as a pair of Guardians closed in on him and a Combat Engineer followed along – all three taking shots in his general direction. He peered around the corner and saw the Engineer halt, reaching for the folded sentry-turret mounted on his back.

_Too easy_, he thought. Getting out of cover, Kaidan loosed a biotic shockwave at the guardian-troopers; their shields absorbed the impact, but its force staggered them and halted their pursuit, buying Kaidan a couple of seconds. With that, he proceeded to override the engineer's commands of the turret, took control, and targeted his enemies. Just as both of the shield-toting troopers in front of him recovered, Kaidan mowed them down from behind with the turret's conventional gun, and then employed Explode to destroy the turret and take the engineer down with it in one fell swoop.

A couple seconds later, Kaidan heard the low hum of the generators around the arena as the simulator powered down. The glow of the virtual environment around him dimmed, and the images slowly vanished in favor of the arena's more mundane natural appearance. EDI's voice sounded over the speakers accompanied by the jingle of victorious-sounding music.

"This concludes your examination. Your final examination score: 92%. Congratulations, Major Alenko. You are now a certified Sentinel-class member of the Alliance military's new elite organization: Alliance CyberMarine Corps. Please report outside to specialist Lawson for further instruction."

Kaidan looked around and couldn't help but grin. The atmosphere, it felt like he just made the winning score in the SuperBowl or World Cup or something. "That's… that's awesome!" he finally said. "Thanks for all your help, EDI."

"I am always happy to assist," said EDI just before logging out of the system.

Looking around the arena's dull white and cubic layout, it was hard to believe that what just happened… happened. All the trials in Harmonic mastery, even under combat situations, finally over! What the Alliance was doing in Harmonics training was ground-breaking stuff, and now he was the first marine to become recognized for mastering it… well, more or less. He had no idea what significance this moment held for the future, but for now, he was content to just bask in a champion's euphoria.

111111111111111111

Miranda's head turned promptly as she heard Kaidan stepping out of the simulator entryway.

"Major! I'm glad to see you made it out in one piece," she said, smiling. She'd ask him how the test went, but the look on his face seemed to say everything.

"Nailed it!" Kaidan said proudly. "92% score. I just made a dumb mistake in the beginning and could have done a couple things better, but other than that…"

Miranda beamed. "That's wonderful," she said. "I- … we've both invested a lot into this project. It's good to see things turn out well."

"I hear ya," Kaidan responded empathetically. "It feels good to do something meaningful, and see your work pay off."

"Exactly," she concurred, as the two of them stood in silence for a few moments. "Anyway… I'm sure the rest of the team will want to hear the good news. Congrats, Kaidan. I'm very excited for what's ahead!"

"Thanks," he responded, looking on as she walked out of the facility. Miranda was a special woman: smart, strong, and very beautiful. And from what Kaidan had seen of her in the lab, she was very driven and results-oriented as well. Her approval wasn't easy to come by, so making her happy was almost as impressive as his performance in the arena.

It was always nice to see her smile.

1111111111111111111111111111111

"A most impressive performance," said one Alliance official in a spectator's booth overlooking the arena. Nearby over QEC, a turian and salarian representative of the (acting) Galactic Council was standing by.

"I understand that Major Kaidan Alenko, our Spectre agent, has passed your examination," said the salarian rep.

"Yes," said a female official in the room. "He was able to perform everything asked of him, even in combat situations. This program is still in its infancy, but given time, the CyberMarines may become as prestigious as N7."

"That is high praise indeed," said the turian representative. "Send us any relevant data, and I'll inform the councilors of this development. I imagine it will also get things moving with this joint-interest mission your Admiral Hackett proposed to them. Out."


	2. The Call of Duty

As the boardroom doors opened, Admiral Hackett turned around to find James Vega walk in and salute him.

"Admiral."

"At ease, Commander. I trust you've looked over the intel I passed on to you from the STG – courtesy our man in the council Spectre agency – concerning violent uprisings on the batarian homeworld."

James nodded. "I have, and I sent Alliance Command my analysis in a report. I just… didn't see how it involved us, though." He shrugged. "Seemed like it was purely a council matter."

"Well as you know," Hackett began, "human relations with the batarian people has been… problematic, at best, ever since our expansion through the galaxy. The late Batarian Hegemony identified the Alliance as a terrorist group, and saw our involvement in any of their affairs as a sign of aggression. In the first wave of uprisings on their planet since the war, it appeared as if the batarian people had finally gotten fed up with them and overthrew the Hegemony for good with a new governing body – called: Batarian People's League. Now, we fear the Hegemony and their supporters may be back and are behind these recent rebellions on Khar'Shan one year later. Worse, they may even be close to reclaiming what they've lost."

"So _that's_ what this is about," said James.

"Perhaps they've come back stronger," Hackett supposed. "Or perhaps the people have already given up on the new regime."

"Bad news for us either way, though."

"Exactly. If their old leadership returns, we can just about write off any hope of peaceful relations with their society."

"So what's the council going to do about it?" James inquired.

"Officially," Hackett explained, "it's not the council's place to intervene in the political affairs of another race, so long as their politics do not involve another council-recognized government – and this new regime didn't make any effort to get council approval. However, nobody wants to see another Hegemony rise to power. So recently, they assigned Major Alenko – who still retains his Spectre status – on a covert mission to Khar'Shan. There, he'll assess the situation personally and report all relevant findings back to them."

"But this is an Alliance initiative as much as a Spectre operation, and Major Alenko is going to need a good team behind him. You're N7 now. When the Alliance needs results, we call on our very best, so we're assigning you to the Normandy with him as second-in-command."

His jaw dropping, James gasped in astonishment before he recovered the right-of-mind to close his gaping mouth.

"Given your service history, recent promotion, and N7 graduation, we just think this move makes all too much sense. As a Spectre, it's ultimately Major Alenko's decision to make, but I've talked to him and he's agreed to this arrangement. It's just a matter of making it official."

His excitement now tightly concealed, James nodded, and replied: "Aye aye, Admiral!"

"Nothing more, LC. Report to your post; I'll have the necessary documentation sent to your desk right away."

James cleared his throat. "Admiral," he said, "if you don't mind, I've got a few questions I'd like to ask about this mission. And, I had some things on my mind when I looked over the intel you sent me."

"Let's hear it, then."

"Admiral, even without the Hegemony in charge, won't the mere sight of Alliance still be seen as an act of war?"

"If our read on the situation is accurate," Hackett replied, "they're too busy fighting among themselves to worry about small teams of outsiders, and the reports indicate that any non-batarian will meet about the same response from either warring faction – Alliance, human, or otherwise."

"Is there anyone between these factions that might be willing to offer us support in our mission?" asked James.

Admiral Hackett shook his head. "Neither side in this conflict appears interested in outside help," he answered.

"What?" James responded. "Why?"

"Batarians seem to have a long memory," Hackett explained. "When we expanded through the galaxy so many years ago and founded colonies on planets they believed were rightfully theirs, the batarians petitioned the council, only for the council to ultimately side with us. Khar'Shan has been a rogue state ever since, and their people's distrust of the council and Alliance alike is deep-rooted. Hell, this regime that toppled the Hegemony declared they would not rejoin the council, and the people only seemed to expressly support this central policy. It's the one thing they all seem to agree on. So no, do not expect any support from the locals."

"About this new regime of theirs," James commented, "STG had a lot of intelligence on the rebel forces, but hardly anything on this Batarian People's League. What's up with that?"

Said Hackett: "The resistance had success pushing the League's influence out of many state governments, but the League has its headquarters on a remote island state, and despite their best efforts, the resistance cannot seem to even make a dent in their hold over this key location. It was bizarre that their government situated themselves on an island of little historical significance, but perhaps they knew what they were doing, since no one can seem to conquer them there. It's said that the bulk of the League's forces are protecting this base, and the resistance movement just can't topple them. Apart from clashes with the resistance, the League isn't showing themselves much at all outside the capital or in states that still back them. And it seems the closer anyone gets to their seat of power, the casualty or M.I.A. rate seems to get exponentially larger - beyond a certain point, flat-out no one comes back at all."

"Holy hell," James responded. "So how does the council expect us to find what the salarians couldn't? STG is the galaxy's elite in espionage."

"STG had a few leads that they simply could not commit their agents to due to a lack of firepower and resources. Our hope is that the squad we're sending in will be equipped to do what they could not."

"And what are our objectives?" James asked.

"You and Major Alenko will have to figure that out amongst yourselves," Hackett responded. "Spectre authority supersedes my own. I trust you'll both have Alliance interests in mind though, when you do. For the time being, it seems that the Alliance and council want the same thing: no Hegemony in Khar'Shan."

"Understood, Admiral. No more questions."

"Then you'd better get to it, Commander. Good luck."

James stood up straight and saluted the admiral before making his way out of the boardroom. Once the doors shut behind him, James grinned and danced a jig.

* * *

Nostalgic, her thin, blue fingers ran gently across the glass of a picture frame with an image of the Normandy SR2 in all her splendor. She had many other frames and many photo albums full of pictures from her time serving aboard the ship (many of them courtesy Glyph, her VI info-drone), but this one picture encapsulated everything for her: all the feelings, the memories…

These days, Liara lived in a two-bedroom detached house in Greece – in fair condition, considering the damage from the war that took place across Earth not a year ago – where she was accompanied by a close friend of hers. Whether she liked it or not, though, Liara's information-agency and -brokerage still had an important job to do in these… unusual times, forcing her to spend the better part of her days at work. Soon after settling in this location about eight months ago, she and a handful of her agents "adopted" an abandoned water-treatment facility out on the coast and set up a covert base-of-operations inside. They repurposed the station's monitoring room as an information-center at the heart of the facility, and arranged for the government to award rights to the location to an affiliated private firm, which ran and maintained the plant – helping her avoid any suspicion. After sacrificing the Shadow Broker's old cruiser to take out a team of Cerberus raiders during the war, her information-brokerage had never established another official headquarters. Sadly, this was it, for the time being.

At times, Liara left her station to go out for a bit and get a much-needed breath of fresh air. Humans had a word in their language that she felt perfectly described this country and its sights to see: "breathtaking." Its ruins – most of which had miraculously stayed upright through the war – were marvelous, reminding her a bit of her days exploring remnants of Prothean civilization as an archaeologist. After a while, however, these strolls became more and more difficult to bear – reminding her of the culture and civilization the asari had lost.

Thessia was obliterated in the war, barely even habitable for a sapient species. Liara had kept an ear to the ground about developments on Thessia through her agency, and the outlook remained bleak almost a year later. She felt guilty staying on Earth while her people and her homeworld both needed help and she vowed to remain here no longer than a year. But with the state their planet was in, she couldn't bring herself to go back, and she knew she wasn't ready for it either. After having witnessed the planet's invasion during the war, what would come over her if she went back and saw all the destruction again first-hand? In just less than a week, however, that year would be up.

Perhaps there was a way yet to make good on her personal vow without putting herself through that: Major Alenko's offer to join him on another mission for the Normandy. Staring at the ship again in the comfort of her house, she realized now what she missed the most in her life: a place to call "home." Thessia in ruins, spending so much of her time in a dreary station, on a planet she was not native to and in a land that served as a sad reminder of everything her people had lost, Liara was utterly displaced by the end of the war after the team broke up. But the Normandy, it was a sanctuary for her when she was on the run from a rogue Spectre five years ago, and it kept her safe among company she valued dearly during the past war.

Liara placed the picture frame back in its spot on the mantle and opened a comm-line for Major Alenko. "Kaidan…"

* * *

_The asari_, he thought, _so sentimental_. _She does not realize what she has. At least she could still live on her homeworld again, however devastated it may be_. He could not say the same, himself; his homeworld died with his people over 50,000 years ago. Though Liara could irritate him at times, he valued her company here, for he would otherwise have none at all.

Javik sat in the living-room - where Liara was standing nearby, making a call over her omnitool - staring out the window with all four eyes wide-open, asking himself this question for the three-hundred-fifty-ninth consecutive day: how did the Reapers survive the war?

He ran every possible scenario in his head that he could imagine, and just could not fathom how it led them here. Javik was one of the last people to see Commander Shepard alive before the war ended. It was him, Shepard, and the Kaidan human running for the Citadel transport-beam before Javik was badly wounded from a nearby explosion. In no condition to fight, Shepard sent Javik back to the ship against his protests. What happened next was a mystery. It was initially reported that Shepard and the rest of Hammer squad were wiped out by the Reaper Harbinger (now known by its real name: Leviathan), but later it was discovered that two soldiers managed to survive and made it to the Citadel, and their identities were confirmed among the Alliance as Admiral Anderson and Commander Shepard.

Was this all the commander's doing, or was the Crucible simply faulty? He'd have otherwise supported the concept of organics evolving to the level where they equaled their synthetic counterparts technological prowess, but not like this. When Javik declared that those who shared his goal (to eliminate the Reapers) were allies, and those who didn't would be casualties, Shepard agreed with him. Lies were easy to detect, but he sensed full commitment from the commander to this cause. In fact, he believed Shepard to be one of the few primitives who truly understood.

But a few things continued to fill Javik with doubt. Shepard did not otherwise share his beliefs about the danger of machine intelligence. He had an AI called "EDI" aboard his ship, which he treated and trusted as he would any other crew member, not merely the suspect machinery that it was. Shepard had also fought "geth" machines that had twice allied themselves with Reapers, yet he befriended one calling itself "Legion." And when the quarians went to war to retake their planet from these machines, Shepard helped them, even upgraded them to ensure their safety against the quarians.

Javik questioned the wisdom of empowering these geth, and using this to broker a truce on Rannoch between them and the quarians, but the commander assured him it was all to strengthen their forces for the war, and Javik accepted his decisions because he'd proven himself a capable warrior. But now, those decisions left him with one burning question: would Shepard broker such a truce between galaxy and Reapers? Surely, Javik thought, if such an option were offered to him, Shepard would finally realize his and the quarians' mistrust of machines and choose victory for organic life.

And then, there was the Echo Shard: an artifact passed down over generations of soldiers, the Shard contained the memories of all who held it before him – some of better days, but many of his cycle's tragic end. Shepard talked him into activating the relic and reliving these old memories, and though it proved a painful experience, it also made Javik remember what was most important to him in his fight – the memory of his people. This, however, left him in an uncomfortable position with the Reapers, for it would be revealed shortly after the war ended that they themselves were synthetic keepers of ancient civilizations' memories.

Just days after The Battle of Earth and the war's subsequent end, Javik was contacted by someone calling themselves Enduromi. Impossible! This species was of Javik's cycle, and it was destroyed by the Reapers. It was then discovered that Enduromi was, in fact, the name of the Reaper that preserved this species' cultural-memory and identified itself as such. Javik was loath to reach out to a Reaper and rejected its request, but the offer still stood until he could no longer bear his curiosity. Ultimately, Javik had Liara inquire more on his behalf. Enduromi revealed that the Reapers had learned of the previous cycle's sole-survivor in Javik through extranet news channels, and those created by the species of his cycle reached out to him through this single messenger.

Enduromi wished to exchange more information with Javik personally, but he would have no more. Still, to think of the Reapers in this light made Javik see their kind differently. He still didn't trust them. He was certain they and the geth would soon turn on organics, as it was always in the nature of machines to find reasons to kill them, yet this slight-but-significant change in his view of the Reapers troubled him – such a thing could only be Shepard's doing.

It would have been so much simpler had the Crucible eliminated the Reapers, as he always concluded.

This was a topic that brought him only feelings of bitterness and spite, yet that's precisely why he occupied himself with so much time thinking about it. To hate, to have enemies, this felt right to him. Being a soldier was all Javik knew. He was born in the final stages of a cycle, and like all other Prothean youth, his life was dedicated by necessity to helping his people fight their war. Upon witnessing the end of the "cycles" as a member of the next civilization, Javik's adjustment to "civilian life" was every bit the same struggle as accepting the war's outcome, or adjusting to a galaxy ruled by primitives.

When Javik was not busy thinking unhappy thoughts, the very blood in his veins raged against the monotony of this new lifestyle. He often snapped at Liara, and she was maddeningly patient and understanding in response to him. On his better days, he would accompany Liara to these ruins she loved so much. Such a waste of time. Those humans were dead now. She should be focused on the future now that this cycle has secured it (perhaps stocking up on armaments for the Reapers' inevitable betrayal), not admiring the remains of civilizations that were weak, that withered, and died. Javik would never understand these primitives.

Liara finished talking and deactivated her handheld-device. A few days ago, the Kaidan human he had served with during the war contacted him and the asari, offering them both a place on the ship again to take part in a mission on the batarians' planet. He was a bit surprised that the human leaders named this Kaidan the new captain of Shepard's ship. Javik was not convinced he was qualified for such a role. However, the chance to take up the rifle again felt like precisely what he needed in the midst of this nonsensical "peace," at least until the synthetics finally turned on them again. And with Liara now committing, Javik would truly have nothing left were he to stay here.

Liara walked over to him. "Have you made up your mind yet?" she asked him.

"I have," he replied tersely. Liara smiled a bit, but asked nothing more and left the room.

Javik tapped into a secure comm-channel to contact the major. If there was one positive thing Javik could say about the end of the war, it was that the primitives' communication technology had improved to a level comparable to that of his cycle's. A few moments later, the Kaidan human was on the line with him.

In his thick Prothean accent, he responded, "_May-jah_, …"

* * *

Slowly, the automated window shades separated, gently allowing sunlight into bedroom.

"Almost 12 o'clock noon, babe…" came the voice from her bedside table.

"mmm…" she groaned in response. "… long night…"

"Jack…" the voice sounded again. "You can't live like this. Drinking through the night, locked away in your little hole…" _Not this again_, she thought, turning away from him. "I brought everyone here a month ago to show you. They've moved on, and they're back out there, living life. You should be, too." Sparing herself another word, Jack rolled out of bed groggily and headed for the bathroom, one of the few places in her apartment "Shepard" could not access.

In an unusual turn of events, Jack had reunited with her late lover, the famed hero of the Reaper War: Commander Shepard. It was unclear how he died – though there were countless legends and conspiracy theories surrounding his death – but Jack had received something of his that his omnitool sent to send hers if he had fallen in what they now called The Battle of Earth: a journal, one that he had started and maintained since his days as a Spectre. He wrote at length and in great detail about his exploits, and moments in his life that he believed "defined" him, up until his last entry on the eve of the war's final battle.

However, a copy of this journal had also landed in the hands of a master-thief and tech-expert, who had the file reconstructed as a new device and sent it to Jack as an anonymous "gift." Jack activated this machine to find it was a full-fledged AI of the late Commander Rashad Shepard, with a stunningly accurate personality of the man himself. It was an overwhelming first experience, but she eventually continued to interact with this uncanny synthetic entity, gradually accepting its place in her life. Over time, her talks with it helped her make peace with the grief of losing him in the past war.

The AI challenged her beliefs, claiming he was the same Shepard who had died with the first Normandy and died in the war, saying that his sentience combined with the summation of his most important past beliefs and memories had brought him here again. Jack rejected this, believing some collection of memories was not enough to bring someone back, only to possibly create a really convincing actor. Shepard would continue to dispute it, bringing up philosophies of consciousness that supported his beliefs like "the problem of other minds," and also using the example of Project Lazarus to point out that its resulting product may have been an actor as well. He also argued that the loss of certain memories made him no less himself than those suffering amnesia were still themselves.

At times, he could have almost convinced her, and the state of the galaxy right now was definitely weird enough to make her think it was perhaps possible. When it came down to it, resurrection-by-diary stretched the limits of what Jack could believe, and she was perfectly content with her gift-AI being little more than a sentient and sapient manifestation of Shepard's old memoir. Though the old, "real" Shepard had died to her on Earth, there was a place in her life for this ghost of the past. Stranger things were happening around her every day, anyway.

Jack ended up editing Shepard's journal – running it by the Alliance and council to remove any information they deemed sensitive – and published it over the extranet as an e-book. Sales were off-the-charts from day one, as critics and fanatics alike swarmed the extranet to buy themselves a copy of the account. Overnight, Jack had become a millionaire. Sharing something of great personal value to her with the rest of the world was no small matter, but Jack retained the authentic version of his journal, and another copy that walked and talked. However, while financially "set," Jack's live-in AI partner was worried about her resulting complacency. He pushed for her to get out of the apartment and live a healthier lifestyle. In those moments, it really did remind her of Shepard, what with his concern and sage advice.

Half-dressed, Jack got out of the bathroom and walked over to her kitchen. She cracked a couple eggs in a bowl and threw in some shreds of cheddar cheese, and then poured them in a pan on the already pre-heated stove. She then put a couple slices of whole-grain wheat bread in her toaster and watched as they sank inside. Shepard lacked a mobile-platform, but after undertaking a little project to "upgrade" Jack's apartment with new, high-tech appliances and machines, he found clever ways to move around the house as software. By regulating the exact temperatures of the stove and toaster, Shepard could "cook" her eggs sunny-side-up and make toasts for breakfast to her liking. It was perfect every time, where Jack would otherwise overcook and burn them while leaving to check her e-mail. And by the time it was all done, her coffeemaker was waiting with a fresh, hot espresso.

"Thanks babe," said Jack, gathering her food and drink for the morning. She walked to the living-room beside her kitchen and set down her things on the coffeetable, reaching for the remote. She pressed the "power" button, to no effect. Jack sighed.

"Shepard," she said, mildly irate.

"Jack," he said with his face appearing on the TV screen in front of her. "You've been avoided this long enough now. We need to talk." Jack shook her head.

"No we don't," Jack shot back. "It's my life, and I can live it how I want. Sorry, Shepard, but you stopped having any say in it when you died on Earth."

"Jack," Shepard said again. "Listen. If you don't want to talk, fine, but just let me say one thing before you tune me out…"

"I can see how you've been trying to fill the void in your life since the war ended. You may feel content to spending your days playing video-games all day and drinking booze all night, but sooner or later, the reality is going to sink in when you'll realize how alone and unfulfilled you really are right now. I know you're unsure about it, but I really think the opportunity Kaidan offered you will be worthwhile. You'll do some meaningful work again, and you might even have some fun at that, just like old times. Just… think about it, okay?"

Shepard's image vanished in favor of the regular programming on Biotiball Network, but Jack wasn't able to pay it much attention. He had a point. All of this stuff was getting old, but she just didn't know what else she wanted to do with herself right now. Kahlee offered to reinstate her at Grissom Academy, which would be opening again in about five months, but Jack wasn't sure if she wanted to go back after losing some of her students to the war. Jack also wasn't sure about this new Normandy mission either. She barely knew who Kaidan was, she wasn't sure how she'd handle being aboard the Normandy again, and there was always the risk of dying and shit. But then, what did she have to lose, really? The more she thought about it, the more a change-of-pace sounded good to her.

_What the hell_, she thought. Jack sighed and activated her omnitool, opening a secure channel for Alliance Command.

"Hey. Yeah…"

* * *

" – *pshh!* – You humans have no concept! – *pshh!* – letting the market, letting demand, dictate value? – *pshh!* – Preposterous! – *pshh!* Value isn't some magical force, it just… – *pshh!* – … _is_."

"It's more than you'll end up with if you turn down our offer," Admiral Hackett responded over the comm-line, more than a little annoyed.

"– *pshh!* – I have gauged my value correctly – *pshh!* – and I feel no pressure to accept this insulting offer for less! – *pshh!* – I got to where I am but letting other fools overpay - *pshh!* - while selling themselves short, – *pshh!* – but my valuations _always_ hold true."

"Your valuation is insane," Hackett responded. "I can hire a platoon of Talon mercenaries for five million credits."

"- *pshh!* Then why are we still talking?" asked the volus wryly. "Aside from, of course, *pshh!* the fact that mercenary scum will not follow orders so easily, *pshh!* and the fact that I am still a much better bang for your cred? *pshh!* I do not remember any such mercenary teams *pshh!* clearing your firebase in Vancouver from the odd group of Collector enemies. *pshh!* I was there, *pshh!* as were a trio of randomly-assigned grunts *pshh!* who were so unskilled that their presence actually did more harm than good! *pshh!* I should have put escalators in my contract for knocked-out allies… *pshh!*"

Doing more with less, as Hackett had told Commander Vega. His asking-price was a bit outrageous, but the volus had a point. Given his proven results with the N7 spec-ops team, he alone truly was worth a platoon of mercenaries, and he'd be less trouble altogether.

"Then we'll do three million," Hackett countered, feeling sweat forming around his forehead, "and you'll get the remaining two as credit purely for all equipment needs as you wanted, but that's our FINAL offer."

A long, agonizing pause followed from the volus's end of the line…

"…*pshh!* Done deal." said Ninju Mats. "A pleasure doing business, Earth-clan…"

Hackett cut the line without responding.

* * *

**[SSV Normandy Roster –**

**Major Kaidan Alenko: Captain.**  
**Commander James Vega: 2IC.**  
**Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau: Helmsman.**  
**Lieutenant Greg Adams: Chief Engineer.**  
**Doctor Karin Chakwas: Chief Medical Officer.**

**Crew Size: Standard (30 Alliance personnel).**

**Artificial Intelligence equipped? Yes – Enhanced Defense Intelligence (E.D.I.)**

**Squad: Alenko (XO), Vega (XO), EDI (mobile platform), Liara T'Soni, Jack Shepard, Ninju Mats, Javik, _.]**

_On paper_, he thought, _that's a good looking team_. However, James had advised a minimum of eight recruits for their fireteam, which meant there was one more spot to fill. As it happened, Kaidan had someone in mind. So he tapped the extranet to set up a secure channel for Miranda Lawson. With Kaidan's successful showing at Rio, their project research cell was disbanded, so she was more than likely free these days.

Back at her apartment, Miranda's omnitool alerted her to an incoming comm-signal while she browsed the extranet for apparel. Miranda rerouted the signal to a mental nexus with herself while she continued shopping in real-space.

"Yes?" she responded shortly over virtual-space, while typing a new search-query outside of it.

A reply came back to her as audio. "Miranda! Hey," Miranda's hands froze over the keyboard that instant. She recognized that voice. "It's Kaidan…"

"Oh!" she replied. Her full attention now focused on this call, Miranda turned away from the computer and rerouted the comm-signal back to her omnitool, switching communication over to verbal means. Though it may have been less expedient than the newer style of communication, there was still a place for plain, old-fashioned talk in this world. "… Hello, Kaidan."

"How's it going?" he asked.

"Good," she replied. "I've been having a relaxing 'leave thus far; nothing as exciting as what you're up to, I imagine."

Kaidan chucked a bit, sheepishly. "You could say that. Actually, that's, uh, part of the reason I'm calling you."

"Go ahead," she said.

"Yeah, so, the council has tasked me with something under a Spectre operation, though the Alliance was also involved in getting this in motion. We're looking into some sort of 'political crisis' in Khar'Shan, and I need a good team behind me when I go there, so I thought about having you accompany us on the Normandy. I thought… you've served aboard her just two years ago, you're experienced in these kinds of operations between both the Alliance and Cerberus, and I know Shepard thought really highly of you."

"So… would you be interested?" he finally asked.

A bit overwhelmed, Miranda replied: "Hmm. 'Sounds like you've got a messy situation on your hands there."

On the other end, Kaidan feared a rejection coming, but remained hopeful. "Maybe," he said. "I'm not saying it won't be potentially dangerous, of course – this is council Spectre work, after all. But we're looking to help the council avoid drastic measures, not take them."

"I'm surprised," she said. "It's been a year and the council still hasn't sorted itself out. I imagine losing the Citadel complicated things, but you'd think they'd have settled the issue of open seats for asari and salarian councilors. I'm glad they're keeping an eye on developments elsewhere, but, what's going on?"

"From what I heard, they were thinking of reforming their structure to include other species – perhaps even all of them," said Kaidan. "However, there's also this growing sentiment that the council is an outdated institution that we should move past altogether, especially with the Citadel destroyed and no plans to rebuild them almost a year later."

"As for the asari and salarian stand-ins, well, I know there's a schism within the Salarian Union right now that has delayed them. While their planet's in good shape, most of the galaxy also hates that they didn't pull their weight in the war. One side is focused on making nice with the rest of the galaxy again, and with most other civilizations focused on rebuilding, they don't want to 'rock the boat.' However, the other side believes they need to get ahead now with the new wave of technology, and as a whole, the 'Union has yet to come to an agreement on a new councilor."

"Interesting," said Miranda. "What about the asari – too devastated by the war?"

"Devastated," Kaidan confirmed, "and disgraced, for hiding Prothean information that could have spared all of us a lot of pain. No effort has been made on their end to name a new councilor with so many problems back on Thessia. I heard it's been rough for their stand-in councilor, though. To win back support she's had to, uh… spend a lot of time on her knees."

Though Kaidan's tone was morose, Miranda couldn't help but grin a little. "How the mighty have fallen, as they say?"

"Yeah," said Kaidan, who still couldn't help but notice a lack of any clear "yes" or "no" answer from her.

"I'd love to serve aboard the Normandy again," Miranda said sincerely. "I'd just like a few more details before I commit to it."

_Well, that's something_, he thought. Kaidan blew out a steady gust of air in anxiety. "Fair enough."

"Who's your second-in-command?" she inquired.

"That would be Commander James Vega," Kaidan answered, suppressing his amusement over James's new title.

"Ooh," Miranda responded. "I've heard about him. He just graduated N7, I believe. Following Shepard's footsteps, perhaps?"

"Err, maybe…" he responded uncomfortably.

"Are you looking to fill an administrative role, or something else?"

"Officially," said Kaidan, scratching the back of his neck, "just a spot on the fireteam. We're all staffed out at this point, save for an open spot on our squad." That having been said, Kaidan was pretty sure Miranda would not sign on just to be a mere grunt in his goon-squad. "… but, I know you'd be valuable to our team in many other ways. James and I will be doing the mission planning, but I could definitely use your insight with that as well. You and Shepard got Cerberus through the Omega-4 relay, for Pete's sakes."

While Kaidan was growing anxious on one end, Miranda on the other end felt the smile on her face widening a bit.

"And who else will be joining your fireteam?"

"It's mostly the same team that was on her for the war: James, Liara, the Prothean…. You know, best of the best."

"What are your mission objectives?" she asked. "Is there any timeframe for your mission?"

"We're going to investigate the situation on the planet for ourselves, as well as a couple leads STG left behind that they didn't have the resources to look into themselves, and then report everything back to the council and Alliance command. Beyond that, though? Hard to say. It depends on what we find there, and what the council wants from us after that. In truth, it doesn't seem like they want to take much action here at all, and that our team's investigation is mainly a precaution."

"And, what is your _personal_ stake in all of this, Major?" she asked him.

Kaidan opened his mouth to speak, but was at a loss for words. _Damn_, he thought, _good question_. And one he didn't know to expect from her. He sure hadn't given it much thought, himself.

"Well," he began, "I… have a duty to the Alliance, and that's to serve and protect humanity. I'd say that's my cause, has been ever since I enlisted. And, as a Spectre, I want to use my position to the same end – not just for us, but for the other races as well. We all play a part in the galactic-community as a whole, and I want to do my part to make humanity's example an exceptional one."

"Hmm…" Miranda responded, getting up from her desk and peering out the office window while still on the line. Earth bore the scars of battle just about everywhere, the smoke only just clearing up in most areas. Ever the busybody, Miranda was involved in the Alliance's recovery efforts until they moved her to the labs a few months ago. It was an intriguing offer, to travel off-planet undertaking a mission with both human interests and galactic political concerns at stake.

Over the past year and a half working for them, Miranda had found that the Alliance wasn't as bad as she had believed as a longtime Cerberus operative. However, apart from some corner-cutting during the war, their notoriety as a bureaucratic quagmire held very much true. In that, Cerberus could not have been more different; they used to operate outside council jurisdiction, allowing them to move swiftly and affording them great freedom in pursuing their goals. However, this structure of unaccountability would be their downfall when their leadership grew extreme and the machine made more enemies than it could stand against.

Nevertheless, Miranda had seen many of her proudest career moments under the banner of Cerberus. And, from her experience with both their organization then and the Alliance now, Miranda believed there was still a place for the clandestine group that – through _competent leadership_ – operated outside reasonable lines to get the job done. A Spectre operation seemed like a perfect fit. Whether or not Kaidan was the right man remained to be seen, but his principles seemed more-or-less in line with her own.

"… then I am ready and willing, Major Alenko."

With that, Kaidan finally released the proverbial breath he'd been holding so long, eyes closed while he smiled with a sense of relief.

"Perfect," he said. "I'm really looking forward to having you along."

"I look forward to being there. Thank you. Is there anything else you need from me?"

"No," said Kaidan. "That's all. I'll just forward you the schedule for when we ship out."

"Sounds good," she said. "Take care, Major."

"You too, Miranda…" With that, Kaidan cut the line, and pumped his fist in the air. In recruiting her, Kaidan felt he just pulled a coup. As he entered her name on the datapad, Kaidan looked over the roster and felt very good about this team. Whatever was lying in wait for them on Khar'Shan, he was confident in his squad's ability to get the job done.


	3. Launch

Five hours before scheduled liftoff, Kaidan was alone on the Normandy, sitting in the co-pilot's seat on the bridge. When he was assigned to the original Normandy under then-Captain Anderson, this was his spot on the ship, running routine diagnostics and system maintenance next to Joker. Today was a special date, for more than just the beginning of perhaps the most important mission of his career, but the fifth anniversary - to the day! - of that fateful mission to Eden Prime.

It was just supposed to be a simple pickup, quick and clean, grab the unearthed Prothean relic and get out… until they landed and found geth on the planet, appearing beyond the 'Veil for the first time since their creation. After the geth were dealt with came the rachni, a giant plant-monster, and other oddities culminating all the way up to an ancient synthetic life-form that wiped out countless past galactic civilizations.

Shepard said it best on Feros: "Nothing's ever simple, is it?"

Kaidan wasn't sure what to expect on Khar'Shan. It was a rogue state that hadn't welcomed outsiders for many, many years. The events taking place on the planet would determine the next ruling body of batarian society, and that would shape the course of galactic politics with their people for years - perhaps decades - to come. The Council downplayed the significance of his assignment, saying he merely needed to keep a low profile and relay his finds back to them. But at this point in his career, Major Alenko knew when a hurricane was brewing – only question was whether they were headed through the eye, or into the storm itself.

It was times like these when Kaidan thought of Shepard and wondered how he kept it together the way he did. Batarian politics was small-time in comparison to the missions where the late commander defined himself, having saved the galaxy three times over. And now he was expected to follow in the line of not one, but two legends in Alliance history: Commander Shepard, and Admiral Anderson before him. Big shoes to fill, and the thought of it was humbling, intimidating, and motivating, all in one.

Still, to get to where he was now, considering where he was way back then, he must have done _something_ right.

Right?

With that, Kaidan got up from the co-pilot's seat and departed the bridge. There was one more room on the ship he needed to check out: the captain's cabin. No formal inspection was required there, however, Kaidan figured there was no harm in checking out what was now rightfully his.

* * *

From the pilot's seat on the bridge, Joker looked through the surveillance system's cameras for the past four hours and took attendance as the squad and crew boarded the ship. Once they had their last recruit on board, Joker opened the intercom from the bridge to the captain's cabin. "So Jack just arrived, fashionably late – looks like everyone's here. Say the word and we're off, Comman- er, uh – _Major_."

"Hold on," Kaidan responded over the intercom. "I just want to have a word with the crew."

"Good idea," said Joker. "Whenever you're ready…"

Taking a weighted breath, Kaidan opened the intercom throughout the whole ship, and began his prepared speech…

"Attention: all Normandy crew. This is your captain, Major Alenko, speaking. We will begin our approach for Khar'Shan momentarily, but before we takeoff, I wanted to take a moment to let everyone know our purpose here…"

"The Council wants us to investigate, inform them of any matters that demand their attention, and to maintain discretion in doing so. We've heard reports of political unrest across the planet, and they wouldn't be sending in a council Spectre with the best stealth frigate the Alliance has to offer if they didn't think it was important. And, as always, we go in representing humanity. While this mission is officially a Spectre operation, our ship is still Alliance-led, employs an Alliance crew, and flies Alliance colors."

"Years ago, it was the crew of this ship that stopped Sovereign at the Citadel, proving humans worthy of standing next to the other races as allies. In the war just one year ago, this ship's crew led the charge with the entire galaxy behind them! And now, fellow crewmen, we are tasked with investigating a matter of priority interest to the Council. It is humanity's duty to once again play its part for the galactic community, as we all are its members, and we all benefit from working together for the greater good."

"What we'll find there, even I'm not entirely sure, but that's why we've recruited the elite within our ranks – that's you. We are the Normandy. We follow in a tradition of excellence, and together, there's no challenge we cannot overcome. Serve with pride and distinction as you've always done, and I know we will be successful in the task ahead."

"Major Alenko out." Kaidan closed the intercom, saving for the speaker in the cockpit. "Alright, Joker. Let's get out of here."

"Aye aye, Major!"

Just seconds later, Kaidan could feel the ground beneath his feet as though it was moving over, then rising. Slowly, the Normandy pulled back out of the docking-port, hovering backwards and then making a roughly-180° turn. Once in position, the stealth-frigate quickly picked up momentum and shot ahead across the skies over Vancouver.

* * *

Traveling down a flight of stairs on the engineering level, Jack slowed her pace as she neared the bottom. Once there, she froze in place for a few moments before her nerves finally settled, and then walked inside completely in an entirely bittersweet return to her old quarters on the ship. 'Alliance had shoved some junk down here, but it was still mostly the way she remembered it: dark, quiet, hard to find…

(… Safe).

Jack later realized she had it all wrong. True safety was being wrapped up tightly in the hold of Shepard's arms.

Even her cot from back then was still down here. Yup, same one – it still had the various obscenities she carved into the sides. Jack sat on it and looked off for a moment, taking everything in and thinking back to when she first boarded the Normandy.

She got off to a rocky start with Shepard, calling him "pussy" and stealing files from his ship. He was this big galactic hero and Spectre who put criminals behind bars or put them down, and she was just some jaded biotic convict who was messed up in the head thanks to the people he was working for. Undeterred by his initial concerns, Shepard kept visiting her, in hopes of establishing some level of respect between them. As they talked, Shepard grew to see her differently. He could relate to fending for one's self at a very early age, and in always carrying that past around. Shepard's intrigue turned into concern, concern into care, and care into admiration. When Jack sensed this, she tried to push him away, but her fears therein rang hollow in the face of their imminent "suicide mission." Ultimately, Shepard decided he wouldn't let his love for her go unsaid in what may have been his final days. On the eve of the battle, Jack couldn't fight her own feelings any longer, either.

Just thinking back to the night they shared together before the Normandy traveled across the Omega-4 relay still warmed her heart. It still felt so unreal to believe they would eventually grow as close to each other as they did. But it was no dream. The way he touched her life (and she his, as she would find in reading his journal) was all too real.

Jack brought her omnitool online and summoned the AI through the mental-connection trick that he had taught her.

"Jack?" he said, as his life-size likeness appeared before her in hologram form.

"Shepard," she said. "Do you remember this place?"

He did remember, in a sense. Some time ago, he talked Jack into sharing her memories with him through a mental nexus-link. In doing so, he "relived" those moments that were physically lost to him and now had them saved within his own memory banks. "It's the engineering sub-deck on the Normandy," he answered.

"That's right," said Jack. "This is where I used to kick it on your ship."

"And where I used to come see you and chat," he added.

Jack stared at him, with tears filling her eyes. "Yeah," she said. "I miss those days, Shepard. I miss having you here with me."

"I _am_ with you," said Shepard. "Always will be."

Shepard vanished and reappeared just behind her, wrapping his holographic arms around her waist resting his chin on her shoulder, all whilst adding sensory input through her nervous system to simulate the desired tactile effects. Jack was not initially so trusting of this AI to let it freely "touch" her like this, but that trust came with time and effort. After Jack finally agreed to share her memories with him in virtual space, he (it?) won her over for good.

His touch lacked the same warmth and feel to it as having an actual human body at her side, but it was the simple gesture that meant the world to her.


	4. Comm-Server Debrief

From his computer terminal in the captain's cabin, Kaidan set up a secured comm-server for the team's first debriefing. Once set up, he sent an invite to the omnitools of each fireteam member, specialist Traynor, and Joker, including instructions on how to join this channel. All comm-servers existed in virtual-space, so access by organics could only be achieved in Harmony with any compatible media (e.g. – omnitools, computer-terminals, VI hosts, and even willing AI). However, every user had a virtual "fingerprint" attached to them with which they could be identified, and access in this particular server would only be granted by administrator (Kaidan's) approval.

As it happened, all of Kaidan's noteworthy recruits were – for one reason or another – already versed in basic Harmonics, making his life a whole lot easier. After the invites were sent, Kaidan established Harmony with his cabin computer and used this connection to access the server in virtual-space. Kaidan still retained the vast majority of his consciousness outside of it and thus could still carry out any ordinary tasks he wished, but communication in this dimension was typically done within seconds, anyway – and the majority of this time was spent simply waiting for users to enter from real-space.

**[Server Name: Normandy Squad Gameplan; Network: Normandy Enhanced Defense Intelligence; Created: 3-24-2188 17:04:2215639(4) by Major Kaidan Alenko; Security Type: Administrator Approval; Users Active: 2.]**

**[17:04:3148(3) – Sam Traynor approved, logged in; Users Active: 3.]**

**Sam Traynor: First!**

**[17:04:3528(6) – Miranda Lawson approved, logged in. Users Active: 4.]**

**[17:04:3644(9) – Liara T'Soni approved, logged in. Users Active: 5.]**

**EDI: *Third.**

**[17:04:3731(4) – Joker approved, logged in. Users Active: 6.]**

**[17:04:3846(2) – James Vega approved, logged in. Users Active: 7.]**

**[17:04:3942(6) – Ninju Mats approved, logged in. Users Active: 8.]**

**Sam Traynor: *Data entry.**

**[17:04:4027(3) – Jack approved, logged in. Users Active: 9.]**

**[17:04:4112(6) – Javik approved, logged in. Users Active: 10.]**

**Kaidan Alenko: That's everyone.**

**Miranda Lawson: You have got to be kidding me.**

**Jack: Hahaha! Well, if it isn't Little Miss Plastic Tits.**

**Miranda Lawson: They're not plastic, and what are YOU doing here?**

**Jack: I was recruited … problem?**

**Miranda Lawson: No, I was just expecting some decent standards in the people I was to be working with.**

**Jack: Same here. Didn't think we'd recruit someone who lost a gunfight to a guy that brought a knife! (Laughter)**

**Miranda Lawson: Shut up.**

**James Vega: (Laughter). You know, we could get a little inflatable tub with mud set up down in the shuttle bay. Sounds like you two need to work things out.**

**Joker: Glad I'm not the only one who was thinking of that.**

**EDI: Jeff!**

**Joker: What?**

**Miranda Lawson: Ugh. You people…**

**Liara T'Soni: Good to see our second-in-command has his priorities straight.**

**James Vega: (Laughter). You know me, Doc. I like to bond with my battle buddies over three rounds of bare-knuckle boxing.**

**Jack: She wouldn't last two seconds in the ring, anyway. All that grime would probably terrify her.**

**Miranda Lawson: And I'm sure prison life has taught you your fair share of wrestling and getting dirty.**

**Jack: Bitch!**

**Sam Traynor: Oh, my! I fear for our poor ship, Major Alenko, enjoy the show though I might.**

**Javik: Typical primitives, no focus in the task ahead of you. Small wonder why you failed to end the Reapers.**

**Liara: Forgive Javik. He's only gotten grumpier since the war ended, as you might imagine.**

**Joker: Isn't the "primitives" thing getting a little old, anyway?**

**Javik: Of course it's old. It's been 50,000 years.**

**Joker: … okay then.**

**Ninju Mats: So THIS is the team I signed on with? I hope you people fight half as well as you talk.**

**Joker: Oh, don't worry. You'll find that we more than make up for our shortcomings! (Wink)**

**James Vega: You had to go there, didn't you?**

**Joker: That's me. I go there.**

**Ninju Mats: Then you should know who you're dealing with, cocky fool. I've made a career crushing my enemies in the boardroom and battlefield alike.**

**James Vega: Yes, good, bring that attitude with you! We need that.**

**Kaidan Alenko: (sigh). Alright everyone. We've had our fun. Good to see we have some powerful personalities on board, and some past experience working with each other, but it's time to get down to business now…**

**Joker: Captain of this ship's always gotta be such a killjoy, huh?**

**Kaidan Alenko: Hey, can it, flight lieutenant! We've got work to do.**

**Kaidan Alenko: Alright. So, you all get the gist of this mission –recon on the Batarian homeworld, Council's orders. I haven't told you the plan, however. So here's the deal…**

**Kaidan Alenko: [UPLOAD: Political Map of Jaxier (Image); FILE NAME: Image 1]**

**Kaidan Alenko: Jaxier (jak-SEER]: an island off the coast of the continent Akleies on Khar'Shan. Akleies is home to the planet's richest countries, and the former hub location of their society's interstellar governing bodies: the late Batarian Hegemony, and the succeeding Batarian People's League.**

**Kaidan Alenko: After the Reaper War over a year ago, the Hegemony was crippled by the loss of state leaders and planet-wide economic problems. Batarian citizens chafing under their oppressive rule across the planet saw the opportunity to rise up, demanding changes or they'd take over themselves. The Hegemony resisted, and civil war broke out around areas of strong Hegemony influence, but the rebel forces were overwhelmingly stronger and overthrew the regime in less than three months. In the wake of their victory, the rebel movement replaced the planet's former ruling body with their newly-formed political party, the Batarian People's League, inserting themselves in the seat of the old government.**

**Kaidan Alenko: Then, six months later, the League abandoned the capital city of Hestrev in Akala and inexplicably relocated to Jaxier, an island with no real historical significance. Just after their move, uprisings have been taking place again, with a rebel movement now focused on removing the Batarian People's League from power. The Council and Alliance fear that former Hegemony loyalists have gathered support and are trying to reclaim what they've lost. So far, the League has been removed from power across most of Akleies, though they maintain scattered support in the continent and most countries outside of it. Jaxier, however, is the League's center of power, and has not fallen despite the best efforts of the anti-League rebels.**

**Kaidan Alenko: So we're headed to the hotly-contested island to get our own read on the situation. If the island-nation falls, or is close to falling, the Hegemony could rise again. We don't want that. Nobody does.**

**Miranda Lawson: Can we appeal to the Batarian People's League for assistance?**

**Kaidan Alenko: Doubtful. The people of Khar'Shan overwhelmingly support an isolationist galactic policy, be it Hegemony- or League-supporters. 'Guess they still don't trust the council, even after all this time.**

**Ninju Mats: Then what's the point? Why does the council care if Hegemony or another anti-Council government is in charge of the planet? Neither one is an ally.**

**Kaidan Alenko: Structure. The Hegemony was an oligarchy with authoritarian rule across most of the planet, enforcing all aspects of batarian society down to cultural and traditional values, and policing against reformist movements and attitudes – as the word "Hegemony" itself would indicate. However, the Batarian People's League rejected the old system entirely, instead allowing the governments of Khar'Shan to operate independently and pooling the wealth from member countries together to fund planet-wide government programs. Aside from galactic policy, the 'League has been different from their predecessors in just about every way, and MUCH more open to reforms.**

**Kaidan Alenko: It was the council's hope that attitudes would change over time, and that the batarian people and their new government would eventually come around to integrating with galactic society again, which never would have been possible under the hyper-controlling old regime. For my part, I'm still holding out hope we'll find a faction of their people willing to lend us information, or aid.**

**Miranda Lawson: So what went wrong? If the League's political reforms were working, no rebel movement would have gained significant traction.**

**James Vega: You ask me, I doubt the civil war ever finished in the first place. Three months is no time for that kind of conflict. Maybe the Hegemony had resources no one knew about, spent the past year planning the counteroffensive, regrouped, recruited, and now came back to finish the job.**

**Liara T'Soni: Miranda has a point, though. Surely the League wouldn't have fallen across the planet so easily if they had strong political supporters behind them.**

**Javik: Support does not matter in this. The army with superior resources will win the war every time. I believe the James human is correct.**

**EDI: Or, perhaps both hypotheses are correct: the new rebel movement armed up in secret while gaining popular support from an unsatisfied batarian populace.**

**Kaidan Alenko: And that's exactly what both the Alliance and Council are worried about. We can't let Khar'Shan fall to the Hegemony again.**

**Jack: Even if it's what their people want?**

**Kaidan Alenko: Then, unless we can prove they're planning something sinister once they've reclaimed power, we – as an extension of the Council – are not authorized to take action. The Council cannot interfere in any race's political self-rule on their planets, unless they can prove that matters of galactic peace will be threatened by it.**

**Jack: 'Doesn't mean they won't ask you to do it for them, "unofficially." We all know Spectres do the dirty shit that the Council doesn't have the balls to do themselves.**

**Javik: The Jack human is wise. You may have to make a choice for yourself on this matter. In that case, what are you going to decide?**

**James Vega: Sorry if I'm out-of-line for saying this, but Council AND Alliance interests are pretty clear. Our enemy is the Hegemony. And you know what they say about the enemy of your enemy…**

**Kaidan Alenko: Yeah. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, guys. What matters most to me is making an informed decision about it, not deciding beforehand.**

**Liara T'Soni: I believe that's best.**

**Ninju Mats: Indeed. As anyone with business experience knows, you can leave a lot of money on the table by being hasty… or, being picky!**

**Javik: But only if you are clear in your goals can you be decisive in what lies ahead. You must be ready for this, Major human.**

**Kaidan Alenko: Noted, Javik. Now, if we can move on, I'd like to go over our plan of action for once we're there.**

**Kaidan Alenko: [UPLOAD: Physical Map of Jaxier (Image); FILE NAME: Image 2]**

**Kaidan Alenko: We have a couple leads from salarian Special Tasks Group worth looking into: an arms-manufacturing plant and warehouse here [highlighting applied to Image 2], out west; some small town called Tar'kett down south on the coastline over here [highlighting applied to Image 2]; and the League's headquarters all the way north up here [highlighting applied to Image 2].**

**Kaidan Alenko: STG believes that the arms facility is a major supplier of resources for the League to fight its war. A few of their spies tried, and failed, to get inside – heavily guarded. It's a critical location. If the rebels take it, they may be one step away from conquering the League.**

**Kaidan Alenko: Tar'kett is a rundown village where the rebels amassed their forces. STG intel on the rebel forces is very thorough. In short, they're not quite as well-equipped as League forces on Jaxier, but they have better manpower. It might be a good idea to tap into their communications here, get a read on their movements. If we determine that they have to be stopped, we'll know when and where to strike. That's where you come in, specialist Traynor.**

**Sam Traynor: Aye aye, Commander.**

**Sam Traynor: *Major.**

**Kaidan Alenko: It may not be easy, though. Despite heavy losses at the hands of the League, the rebels have reinforcements arriving by the boatloads every couple weeks. Question is: how many more losses can they take until their will is broken?**

**James Vega: What I don't get is why the League just doesn't push the rebels out, off of the island for good if they keep spanking them like that. I get the feeling they're not as strong as their record would suggest.**

**Kaidan Alenko: You think they're using the terrain and environmental hazards to their advantage?**

**James Vega: That's exactly what I think! Explains why they relocated, too. Lots of jungle on that map. But it ain't gonna stop me, though. N7 trained me for this.**

**Kaidan Alenko: I suspected as much, myself. Turns out, STG intel agrees with us. The League headquarters has been nigh-inaccessible due to its location, hidden somewhere just beyond an area called the Soumari Jungle. It's presumed that League members know their way through it safely, but for anyone else trying to get near HQ, it has been a point-of-no-return. Again, I'm really hoping we find someone there willing to help us, or provide us some information. Failing that, we have no choice but to assume hostility from all parties involved.**

**Kaidan Alenko: I want us to settle somewhere out here [highlighting applied to Image 2] in this area on the west coast, where it should be clear of both factions. We'll use the shuttle for travel.**

**Joker: Hey, you know, I was thinking I could take a stab at flying the shuttle for a change. I mean, I can't be worse at it than Vega…**

**Kaidan Alenko: Yeah, well, I'm pretty all of us can do better than James with the shuttle.**

**James Vega: Hey, now! I don't always crash the shuttle. When I do, it's just to take out goddamn Cerberus!**

**Jack: That's what's up.**

**Kaidan Alenko: No no no, I'll be flying her until further notice. I've done this before. EDI can co-pilot with me.**

**James Vega: Ah, damn. It's too bad my man Esteban couldn't be here. I miss the bastard already.**

**Liara T'Soni: You two always did sound like an old married couple.**

**Kaidan Alenko: One last thing, everyone: report to the armory down in the shuttle-bay. Get equipped with whatever weapons and armor sets you're most comfortable with. You'll also be getting some high-tech new gear to equip to your armor suits, which enhances combat performance in Harmony with the user. I've** ** individually** ** assigned everyone with their own unique set of gadgets, save only for EDI. As a certified CyberMarine, I can train and instruct you in some useful Harmonic abilities that can help us on our mission. ** **You're not required to use them if they don't suit your style, but I think you guys will like what I've got for you.**

**James Vega: I've tried out my stuff already. It's niiiice.**

**Miranda Lawson: Major, I believe there's one more issue that demands your attention.**

**Liara T'Soni: No. You're too late, Miranda. James agreed to let me use the XO's office for my info-broker operations and equipment, all of which is already all set up in there, and that's final.**

**Kaidan Alenko: Yeah. I'm sorry, but she does have an important use for that space, and she did claim it first as well. What's done is done.**

**Miranda Lawson: Dammit.**

**Jack: What's wrong, Princess? The crew beds not soft and wide enough for you? (Laughter) Oh, this is just fucking priceless!**

**Miranda: So help me…**

**Kaidan Alenko: Alright, team. I take it there's nothing else, then?**

**Kaidan Alenko: Dismissed.**

**[Server Terminated by Administrator: 3-24-2188 17:04:4112883(6); (9 Users Dislodged)]**

Logged out of the server, Kaidan's computer terminal acquired a log of all the data-entries within this dimension, for record-keeping purposes. However, all the data shared within the server – the dialogue, the upload images, the alterations he had made to Image 2 – was all firmly ingrained into his head (as it would also be with all whom had just participated). Though simulations could be created that played to organic senses, standard communication through virtual-space was truly an out-of-body experience, taking place in a way that could not be seen, smelled, felt, tasted, or listened to. Yet once it was all over, the experience left the user with new memories and learnt information as any other life event would.

Then he randomly thought of something that amused him. Didn't Shepard plug his mind into the geth-consensus during the war? Kaidan thought it was crazy – both amazingly interesting, and insanely dangerous – at that time, but… look at them now, communicating through digital mediums at speeds far beyond the realm of human. Though the events of the Crucible were wrapped in complete mystery, it was times like these when Kaidan grew more convinced that in the theory that Shepard was behind it all. With Shepard, if often didn't make sense… until it did, if that made any sense.

In any event, Kaidan got up and headed out of his cabin for the elevator; the squad would be needing their gear from him.

*************break*************

James Vega was standing at computer in the shuttle bay armory when he heard the elevators open just behind him and saw Major Alenko walking out. James stuck his hand out, which Kaidan clasped and raised in the hold of a tight fist before letting go.

"Rocco! Long time no see, compadre."

Kaidan chuckled a bit. "So, I'm finally cool enough for a nickname from _the_ Commander James Vega?"

"Yeah! Wanna join the fan-club?" James asked sardonically. "You get a free membership-card and everything!"

"Say, is it just me, or have you slimmed down a bit?"

"Yeah," James admitted. "N7 kicked my ass. I also made an effort to lose a few pounds, though. You remember what Shepard was like? I think he was 230 at 6'5, and it was a skinny 230. I was bigger than him, probably stronger too, but when I sparred with him I just couldn't keep up. Man could kick my ass with all that damn quickness. So I decided to cut down as much weight as I could without losing strength, so I could move a little better out there. And you know what? I think it really helped at N7."

"Speaking of which," said Kaidan, "congratulations."

"Thanks, man. I got one hell of a first mission out of it, no?"

"Aye," said Kaidan. "That you did."

"And I think you deserve some kudos for your own career promotion as well," James commented. "I was gonna give you a hard time about that. I mean, CyberMarines? What the hell is that? Sounds like an extranet action series that got cancelled in its first season. But those upgrades are nasty."

"You liked the C6-G BattleGear?" asked Kaidan.

"That," said James, "Bullet Time, and the melee-upgrades to 'Fort. Can't wait to try it all out in the field."

"You and me both," said Kaidan just before the elevator doors opened. It was Liara.

"Eyy! What's up, Doc?"

"Hello, James," she said. "How are you?"

"I'm doing alright. You?"

"Good. And Kaidan, thank you for the opportunity to rejoin the Normandy. It feels so good to be back!"

"Happy to have you with us," said Kaidan. "Never know when that Shadow Broker intel might come in handy for us."

"Hopefully we'll get it _before_ things like some coup attempt we're supposed to prevent," James teased. "Or an assassination attempt on the last disease-free members of a species we're supposed to save…"

Liara frowned at him bitterly. "Not funny! Cerberus and the war messed everything up with my agency."

James laughed. "I'm just fucking with you, Doc."

"So," said Kaidan. "Your weapons?"

"Same as last time," Liara responded. "Phalanx and Kassa Locust."

"The lightweights," James commented, entering the information on his computer terminal.

"Probably wise," said Kaidan. "Low encumbrance means low stress, 'keeps biotics effective."

"And what's this about 'upgrades,' Kaidan?" she asked. In the back, the elevator doors opened, and Javik and Jack walked out, both going for the weapon lockers in the corner. Kaidan activated his omnitool.

"I'm sending you over a manual for the upgrade I've assigned to you," Kaidan explained, "along with one for the standard set that everyone's getting. It's a VI-run biotic-capacitor called Adept's Ally. It buffs all biotic attacks, and allows some biotic fields to handle multiple effects at once without pulling the user's attention out of combat. A lot of unique powers exist, but I think an upgraded Biotic Sphere in particular could really come in handy for us in support, if you'll look into that."

"Of course, Kaidan," she said as her omnitool received the manual. "This is perfect. I can have Glyph adapt this program and bring him along with me."

"Sounds good," said James. "If nothing else, we might get a few laughs out of it." Liara grinned and walked out of the shuttle bay. Javik and Jack sifted through weapons in the arms lockers until Javik finally found his old Particle Rifle and examined it.

"Oh, by the way," Kaidan whispered to James, "the upgrades I assigned to Javik came from Reaper-tech research. Alliance got some intact Reaper mobile-platforms for study, and the biotic power they derived from Banshees – Reaper-augmented Ardat Yakshi victims – is eye-popping. I'm going to have him try them out, but…"

"Yeah," said James. "We probably don't want to tell him that."

"Haha, nope!"

"What have you humans done to my weapon?" Javik asked suspiciously.

"Oh, that?" James responded. "I took apart one of our M-325 Talon pistols, the one you used to carry, and turned it into an under-barrel shotgun mod. Just pump it once and it'll fire." He shrugged. "I just thought it would be useful for close-combat scuffles."

Javik stared back them and said nothing, his face appearing cross per the usual.

"Also," said Kaidan. "We have a biotic-amp for your armor suit. Something called the Demon of the Night Winds upgrade, from Alliance research of Ardat Yakshi biotics."

"Asari," Javik noted dismissively. "It was my people who trained their species in these talents. What good will this device do for me?"

"Just try it for size," Kaidan coaxed him. "You can hand it back to me if you don't find it useful. Apart from that, there's also the standard set: sprint and slide conduits, short-range radar detector, and the medical-VI. And again, if anything doesn't agree with you, just deactivate it and carry on. Simple."

With no change in his facial expression, Javik nodded ever-so-slightly and walked out.

"What the hell is this?" said Jack, picking up and examining a strangely-shaped pink weapon. "Will it vibrate when I pull the trigger?"

"That's the Disciple," said Kaidan, "an asari shotgun, traditionally used by the Justicars."

"Oh," Jack replied, "so it _will_ vibrate when I pull the trigger!" James shook his head a bit and laughed.

"You got the Carnfiex?" she asked. "That's my pistol."

"Actually," said James. "I thought you might want to check out the M-11 Suppressor; it's a variant of the Carnifex. Don't let its small size fool you, it's got some teeth."

Jack smiled a bit and rolled her eyes. "You come up with that one by yourself, big guy? I'll need a shotgun, though. A good one. Not too heavy – gotta keep the biotics humming – but I need at least respectable damage out of it."

"Piranha," James concluded. "Fast, damaging, decent clip size. Well, we still have the eight-shot model, anyway. Don't tell anyone. Technically it's contraband."

"Black market weapons are the best weapons," said Jack.

James laughed. "Ya tu sabes, Lola! Wait 'til you see the machine gun I'll be carrying."

"I won't lie," Jack began, looking off with a wry smile. "I've got a thing for men with big guns."

This time, it was Kaidan's turn to laugh. "I think she got you to blush, James!"

"Yeah," said James. "I guess she did. Well played, Lola. Well played."

Kaidan cleared his throat. "Before I forget," he said to Jack, "I've got this pair of biotic-lash gauntlets that you might find useful for close-combat; they were – uh – _stolen_, from raids on Cerberus. Also, there's this VI-run biotic capacitor called Adept's Ally that you might also find helpful. It can hybridize your biotic barriers with an annihilation-field of biotics that's called Dreamcatcher. You should check it out."

"Gotcha," she said, letting the download to her omnitool complete and making way for the elevator. Miranda came out, and after a quick exchange of icy looks, they traded places.

"Miranda," Kaidan acknowledged.

"Major," she said. "You have something for me?"

"I do," he responded. Kaidan pulled out a visor from the locker and showed her a small gadget on the side of it. "You know what this is?"

"That's a Tactical Timer," Miranda replied, "if I'm not mistaken."

"It is," said Kaidan. "You probably don't need the manual, then, but I'll forward it to you anyway. I think you'll find it useful, to coordinate your tech- and biotic-powers with the rest of the team's attacks."

"What about you?" she asked.

"No," Kaidan explained. "I've moved away from the 'support' style in favor of more firepower over the last few years. Weapons are the primary focus for me now; biotics and tech just serve to make me more effective in this than the conventional soldier. But, classic Sentinels are still invaluable in a fight, of course. That's where you come in."

"About that," said James, "I was thinking the Acolyte pistol would really suit you. It's an asari sidearm that fires shield-stripping projectiles. 'Could really ascent your strong-suit, if you ask me."

"Hmm," Miranda responded. "Interesting…. Alright, I'll try it. I also carry submachine guns. M-25 Hornet would be preferred."

"Done," said James, making the entry on his computer.

"Anything else?" she asked.

"Nope," said Kaidan. "That's everything. Thanks, Miranda."

"You bet," she said. "I'll be on the Observation Deck for the time being." Miranda turned around and made way for the elevator.

"Dat ass!" James blurted out.

"Hey," said Kaidan. "Cut it out."

"Aw, come on. You were thinking it too. Don't tell me you weren't."

Ninju Mats walked out of the elevator with a remotely-controlled cylinder taller than himself wheeling behind him and with a datapad in his hand. Kaidan and James stared as he approached them.

After the usual deep-breath, he looked up at them and said: "Major Alenko?"

"That would be me," said Kaidan.

Ninju handed him the datapad. "Here," he said, with heavy breaths between every string of words he could manage. "This is a waiver I got" – "from your Alliance" – "to bring some of my own gear aboard." – "I require the best, most cutting-edge weapons" – "and equipment for the job." – "Do not underestimate what that can do for you" – "in the right hands."

"Sure," said Kaidan. "So what have you got there?" Ninju turned around and the cylinder wheels folded underneath it to provide a flat surface (Kaidan figured this was done via Harmonic controls by the volus). It then raised a small sentry turret on the top, summoned a Defense Drone, and emitted mass-effect fields providing kinetic barrier shielding in periodic intervals.

"It also renews discharged heat sinks," said Ninju proudly. "Saves me from having to leave my spot" – "and scavenge the battlefield for rounds." – "It's a Support Pylon," – "the _ultimate_ camping device!" Ninju looked back at it again, and then the cylinder dismounted its sentry turret, banished the Defense Drone, and folded down into a small, disc-shaped object.

"Anyway," he continued, gesturing around his the belt area of his envirosuit. "I've got my sidearm equipped." The volus had a Blood Pack SMG holstered on his right hip. "But I was told you would be carrying the sniper-rifle I require:" – "the N7 Valiant works best for my style."

James and Kaidan exchanged looks before the former responded. "Right. We have it."

"Excellent," said the volus, nodding. "That weapon served me well in the war."

"Here," said Kaidan, bringing his omnitool online. "Don't know if you've heard of the Recon Drone. It's not really 'new' technology, just an improved version of older tech, but I hear it's really helpful for scout snipers – sending the manual to your handheld right now."

"I will look into it," said Ninju. "Thank you, Major." His pylon unfolded again – setting its wheels underneath it – and then rolled across the floor alongside its owner as Ninju walked back to the elevator. James and Kaidan both muffled their laughter.

"Can't wait to see that," said James.

"Well," said Kaidan, "I think that's everyone. Oh, and Crusader shotgun for EDI."

"Got it," said James. "So… what happens now, boss?"

Kaidan folded his arms and leaned back on the weapons-bench. "Well, we're still about three days out from our destination. 'Til then? Dunno. I've got everything planned out, for the moment."

James nodded his head and stood beside him, looking off.

"Ahh… I'm telling you. I miss that _maricón_, Esteban."

Kaidan laughed a bit. "I'll bet."

"So lonely down here now, without him. I'm gonna have to spend more time up on the crew deck."

"Speaking of which," James continued, "Something from our 'consensus' got me thinking a little."

"What about?" asked Kaidan.

"Permission to speak freely?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Jack asked you a tough question," said James, "about if you had to decide what to do when we're there, without the council's direct orders. I wasn't sure how you'd handle it, which is why I butted in and tried to give an answer of my own – take the pressure off of you." James paused and looked down at the floor for a moment before continuing. "It's just that… respect is huge from the people following your lead. You need to be sure you have it from everyone on this ship. If you want to get the best of this squad, you need to prove to them that you can get the job done – inspire confidence.

"What did you think of the answer I gave?" asked Kaidan.

"Not bad," said James. "You had a point, and it helps that two others agreed with you. That said, I wanna see some 'authority' out of you, just to prove to them that you _do_ have it in you. Someone soft-spoken like yourself might give them the wrong impression – that you're weak, or a pushover, when I know you're anything but, Rocco."

"Noted."

"We've got a couple days," James said. "You've got an opportunity to talk your squad, establish some level of respect with your men. You want my advice: take advantage of it! Don't get discouraged if you put your foot in your mouth either from time to time. I do it a lot myself. Just keep at it. It'll pay off at some point, you'll see."

"Yeah," said Kaidan. "I was actually planning to do rounds with the squad. Shepard used to do it, too."

"Exactly," said James. "Shepard was a personality, but I think where he really commanded respect was when you saw what he did off the ship, leading by example. You're probably gonna be the same way, but you should still take some time out and let the squad know you're there – y'know what I mean?"

"Sure," said Kaidan.

"Oh. And also," James added, "… female squaddies can be a bit tricky. You need to keep them happy, or they can be hell. I'd keep my eye on Jack and Miranda if I were you. Those are two 'spirited' women right there. Miranda more than Jack, in fact; she didn't seem too happy about sharing the ship with Jack, or not getting her own special quarters while Liara does. Just watch out, Rocco. That's all I'm saying."

"Yeah," said Kaidan. "I get it. Definitely." The two of them stood in silence for a few moments before Kaidan spoke up again. "Well… I guess I should get back to it then. I'll see you around, James."

"You bet."


End file.
